Fight to avoid a ‘lost generation’

Recent statistics released by the youth charity, The Prince’s Trust, and the Times Educational Supplement (TES) show seven in ten secondary school teachers in the North are ‘increasingly worried’ their pupils will end up on benefits, while more than two fifths feel their efforts are ‘in vain’ due to rising levels of unemployment.

The number of pupils persistently absent from school is causing particular concern in Yorkshire. Figures show more than 44,500 pupils in the county are regular absentees.

Sam Kennedy, regional director for The Prince’s Trust in Yorkshire and the Humber, says: “Teachers are doing all they can to support their students and it is more important than ever to work closely with them to support those who may be struggling.

“All too often these young people fall out of the education system because they struggle to keep up and feel that they can never achieve anything.

“There are thousands of young people that fall into this vicious cycle and can end up feeling like they have ‘failed’ in school, leaving with few qualifications and little confidence to help them find a job in the future. This can breed low self-esteem, feelings of worthlessness and sometimes even depression.

“We cannot allow young people who are still at school, as well as the million young people who are struggling to find jobs, become victims of this recession. With the right support, it is possible for pupils to achieve their ambitions, rather than becoming a “lost generation”.

Worryingly, The Trust’s research also shows that teachers across the North are witnessing increasing numbers of pupils coming into school “hungry”, “dirty” and “struggling to concentrate” with more than half regularly witnessing pupils coming into school suffering from malnutrition or showing signs that they haven’t eaten enough.

One in five see this more frequently since the recession in 2009, with some teachers admitting that they often buy food for struggling pupils from their own wages.

The Prince’s Trust runs the xl programme with teachers to help young people who are struggling at school, preventing exclusions, improving grades and giving them skills they need to find a job in the future.

They work with schools across Yorkshire, including Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College in Bradford, helping prevent truancy, potential drop-outs and exclusions and helping them gain qualifications and employability skills.

Jenny Cryer, senior operations manager for Prospects Services Ltd in Bradford, says: “We know from our work with vulnerable young people who are still at school and those who have left, that when young people stop attending school and in particular when they don't get many qualifications, it can become very hard for them to have the confidence and skills to apply for jobs and training.

“Bradford Council through European Social Fund does work with organisations to offer programmes of support for young people who are over 16 and are having trouble finding work or training which help to build their skills and experience.”

Jenny says they know from the programmes they run some young people are struggling to afford clothes and bus fares to attend interviews. “And this can make it very hard for them to find work.”

John Devlin, headteacher at Our Lady of Victories School in Keighley which has pupils aged three to 11, says: “We have not noticed a huge difference because of the recession, but obviously children work best when they are well-nourished and cared for. It may be that in some schools there may have been changes in people’s circumstances through unemployment.”

He says one of their main priorities is to raise their learners’ expectations which, he says, can be difficult when employment opportunities don’t appear to be what they were.

Matthew Band, chief executive of the Bradford-based children and young people’s charity One in a Million says: “As a charity working with children and young people from disadvantaged areas in Bradford, yes there are definitely issues to address and concerns around their education, nutrition and employment prospects in the future.

“It is important that reports like this highlight the issues and then people from different sectors, voluntary, statutory and private, come up with practical ideas and solutions and put them into action together and work with the communities and young people.”

Matthew says they are already working with young people in those communities to address the issues through sports, arts and enterprise to engage them and through community education, nutritional advice and training opportunities.